BOAT, FAAS LEADING 2 ROOKIE CATEGORIES

Drivers Chad Boat and Nic Faas are currently forerunners in the battle for two USAC"Rookie of the Year" honors, to be awarded at season's end.

Boat, of Phoenix, Ariz., has more points than any other eligible rookie in the USAC National Sprint Car and Mopar National Midget Series, while Faas, of Huntington Beach, Calif., has more points than any other eligible rookie in the Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car and Western Midget Series.

Rookie eligibility is limited to drivers with no more than four previous career starts in a respective series and a panel of officials and racing experts determines the winner based on several factors, including performance on the race track and in the series standings.

Steve Arpin of St. Frances, Ont., Canada is the leading point-scoring rookie in the K & N Silver Crown Series so far, while Porter Smith of Aztec, N.M. has outpointed all other rookie candidates so far in the Western Sprint Car Series.